The Essence Gate War: Book 01 - Adept (19 page)

He studied Amric and Valkarr, watched their chests rise and fall in the deep, regular rhythm of slumber
. Healing Valkarr had been tiring, given the extent of his wounds, but predictable. With Amric, he had proceeded at a very gradual pace to indicate peaceful intent, just as he would if trying to approach a dangerous wild animal. This tactic had proven successful, for he did not this time encounter the strange, impenetrable barrier that had stopped him short before. Even as he sent his healing magic into the warrior with utmost patience, however, he had the peculiar sensation of being closely monitored, of that same foreign presence hovering all about his efforts and yet remaining just beyond contact. It was perplexing, and while he was relieved to have found a method by which he could heal the swordsman, he was also concerned that the next time might call for more urgency, and he might face that mysterious resistance again.

He pushed it from his mind, as he had already a dozen times over the night
. There was nothing for it but to try, when the time came.

He looked skyward, wishing the cleft opened to the east so that he could witness the dawn’s full glory
as it arrived, when something nagged at the edge of his vision. His eyes fell to the side, and he froze. Standing less than a dozen feet away, so still as to seem a natural part of the crevice’s many shadows, was a tall, slender figure folded in a cloak. Halthak clawed for the staff beside him and sprang to his feet as a strangled yelp lodged in his throat.

A throaty chuckle came from the figure, followed by a smooth, familiar voice
. “Do you mean to crease my skull for disappearing last night, healer?”

“Bellimar?” Halthak gasped
. “By the heavens, man, I think you just shaved years from my life!”

“My apologies for startling you so.
” Bellimar glided forward, and Halthak glared at him, finding the contrition in the old man’s tone did not at all match the twinkle of amusement in his eyes.

“Where have you been all night?” the
Half-Ork asked.

“An excellent question,”
said a low, dangerous voice. Halthak wheeled to see Amric and Valkarr having risen into crouches, silent as ghosts. They had not yet drawn their blades.

Amric spoke again
. “I look forward to your answer, Bellimar.”

Bellimar
met their angry stares with his enigmatic half-smile, and in a slow, deliberate motion, he sat on a nearby rock. The warriors tracked his every movement, but did not ease their postures. Halthak looked between them and winced at the crackling tension.

“Did you think I had abandoned you?”
Bellimar inquired.

“It had crossed my mind,” Amric said.

“I understand how it appeared,” Bellimar said. “I assure you, however, that I did not depart until the conflict was decided.”

“Well and good if true, but why did you depart at all?”

“The battle was over and Halthak was offering to see to your wounds,” Bellimar said in a soothing tone. “I could not help much in that endeavor, so I set about making myself useful in a different way. I sought a more secure site for us to camp the night, higher in the crag and away from subsequent predators. I departed in haste, hoping to find such a site quickly, before the sounds of the battle drew anything else to us.”

“And yet you return instead at the break of dawn, while we spent the night on the ground.”

Bellimar nodded, seeming oblivious to the barbed nature of Amric’s comments. “Unfortunately, every location I found involved strenuous climbing, which I doubted you and Valkarr could manage in your weakened condition, and which would have meant abandoning the mounts. So instead I assumed a perch well above you, and kept watch from this higher vantage point. I had an unobstructed view of the surrounding area and any approach to this crevice. I regret that I could not shout down to inform you of my whereabouts, for fear of attracting unwanted attention, but I would of course have done so to warn of any approaching threats.”

“It all sounds reasonable, if
a bit too carefully crafted,” Amric said. “And it does not explain why you could not share a word of your plan with Halthak before you left, or how you were able to descend undetected into our midst just now. I have been lying awake for more than an hour, listening to the healer’s intermittent snoring, and I was only aware of your presence moments before Halthak discovered you.”

Halthak
’s face burned at Amric’s words. He had not realized the man was awake, had never seen him move nor heard his breathing change. Bellimar opened his mouth, but Amric held up a hand to forestall the reply.

“Nay,”
he said. “I do not doubt that you can supply a ready explanation. Keep your secrets, old man. I already know there is more to you than meets the eye. I respect and even like you, Bellimar, and your aid has been invaluable thus far, but I want you to understand two things.”

The swordsman stepped close, pinning Bellimar with
a stare. “First, if I judge for a moment that you have goals running contrary to our own, I will not hesitate to take necessary measures. Is that understood?”

The old man tilted his head, searching the warrior’s expression for a long moment before giving a grave nod
. “Understood. And the second?”

“
In the future,” the warrior said, his words ringing like cold iron, “if you feel the need to depart in the midst of a crisis without a word to anyone, stay gone.”

Bellimar inclined his head again
. “Understood on that point as well.”

“And you,
healer,” Amric said, rounding with a scowl on Halthak, who flinched back from him. “You misled me, and broke our agreement by lulling me to sleep.”

The
Half-Ork, emboldened by Amric’s words being more scolding than angry, folded his arms across his chest and thrust out his lower jaw as he faced the other man.

“
You needed the rest to recuperate from your injuries,” he said in what he hoped was a tone that brooked no argument. “I said I would only do as much as I thought you required, and I did just that. It is the physician’s prerogative to ignore the demands of a delirious patient.”

Amric glowered at him for a few more moments, before the hint of a grin cracked through
. “So it is, healer, so it is. And we would be in dire straits indeed without your expert ministrations.” His voice regained its stern edge. “Still, you put us all at risk, and such dishonesty does not fit you well. If we are so unfortunate as to repeat those circumstances, sway me with words rather than deception. Promise me that?”

Halthak exhaled in relief, and nodded
. “I would have woken you both had anything threatened.”

“Or we you,” Amric said with a
snort that sounded suspiciously like a mock snore, but a private wink took the sting from his words. Valkarr gave a soft, sibilant laugh and turned away, striding to the entrance of the cleft. He stood silhouetted there, surveying the hillside.

Still seated upon his ro
ck, Bellimar said, “There is something else I must mention.”

The old man’s half-smile returned as they all turned to face him, expectant.

“In my exploration of the heights above us last night,” he said. “I discovered something you should see for yourself.”

By the time he reached the safety of the broad stone ledge, Halthak was fighting for breath. Strong hands pulled him over the edge and to his feet, and he peered down into the yawning darkness of the cleft below. He battled a moment of vertigo as he stood with his heels on the precipice; it had not looked so high when he stood at the bottom, staring up the rock face with skepticism as he sought the handholds the others assured him were plentiful. Amric and Valkarr had scampered up before him with infuriating speed and ease, and it was some combination of curiosity, stubbornness, and unease at being left behind with Bellimar that had driven him to follow.

Bellimar
stood far below, a distant bit of shadow wrapped in his cloak. He had chosen to remain on the ground, expressing doubt as to whether there was strength enough left in his aging limbs to ascend again by the route he had so recently descended. He claimed to have reached this spot by a less strenuous albeit more circuitous route during the night. Contemplating the return descent now, Halthak felt his chest tighten. He berated himself for following the warriors up here merely to witness Bellimar’s reported discovery, but then he raised his face to the sunrise and changed his mind.

The sun’s golden light caressed and warmed his face, and he shielded his eyes against its glare to look out upon a
living sea of jade. Between the altitude gained from the large hill upon which the crag rested, and the further height of the ledge above the crest of that hill, they were looking out at a level with the tops of the trees. The thick, green canopy spread away from the crag on three sides past the limits of his vision, its surface rippling before the will of the wind. The healer found the ancient forest as beautiful from above as it was treacherous beneath. Here at least there was life, as flocks of birds wheeled and circled high overhead. Halthak felt a sudden, fierce longing to be as free of the evils below as were those birds. He wondered at how magnificent the view must be at the peak of the crag rather than merely partway up, but he could see no way to ascend further from their ledge.

The ledge wrapped around the
face of the bluff, and Amric and Valkarr stood at its southernmost edge. They were conversing and pointing at something in the distance, and as Halthak moved toward them he saw the focus of their attention.

On the southern side of the crag, separated from them by a slender swath of
trees, the rocky ground gave way to foothills and then rose into a sheer cliff that meandered east like a great stone curtain. Etched into its side was a shelf that ran ribbon-like for many miles above the forest. On its western end, it coiled back upon itself several times before it disappeared into the woodlands behind the crag. Halthak strained to trace its progress to the east, though he lost it eventually to distance and the glare of the rising sun. It seemed to end at or behind a solitary mountain, thrust away from its siblings huddled in the range behind it to reign alone and majestic above the forest. As he continued to stare, however, it dawned upon him that the mountain had too many sharp, angular edges to be the careless artistry of nature, and the myriad shadows upon its face were too uniform as well. Awe crept over him as he realized he was looking upon a mighty fortress, carved from the very top of the mountain. Halthak tried and failed to grasp the enormity of effort required to construct a single structure so massive. It could only be Stronghold, home of the reclusive Wyrgens, and their destination.

Halthak hastened forward to hear the discussion.

“It is not marked on Morland’s maps,” Amric was saying. “But the maps focus on trade and mining supply routes, and that ridge path looks unsuitable for wagons or large parties, so that could be why. I would wager that four riders on horseback can navigate it in a single column, however, with caution.”

“Do you see the bridge Bellimar mentioned?” Valkarr asked.

Halthak peered into the fading distance, and saw no such thing.

“I think so,” Amric
said, after a moment. “It is difficult to tell for certain at this distance, but I believe I see something connecting the path and the fortress. Damn, but the old man has eyesight a hawk would envy to have seen that far in the poor light.”

The swordsman’s flat tone seemed at odds with his admiring words, and Halthak puzzled over it before Amric’s
meaning sank in. Bellimar had startled them on the ground before the morning sun had crested the horizon. What the keen eyes of the warriors could barely discern now in dawn’s first light, Bellimar had somehow seen last night in near darkness. Halthak felt a growing chill as he considered the implications.

”
If we are mistaken about reaching the fortress from the path, we could lose a day or more to backtracking,” Valkarr said.

Amric
grunted. “Worth the risk. I find I am open to alternatives to the forest road just now.”

“We will be exposed to view,” Valkarr noted
. “But we will see far as well, and attackers can only come at us one or two at a time on the narrow trail. A better route, if it connects.”

“Then let us hope this newfound
path is as quiet as it appears,” Amric said. “And that Bellimar has indeed found us a way to bypass the last stretch of this infernal forest.”

It was late afternoon when the riders reached the end of the high pathway along the cliff wall. At its terminus, the path twisted away from the sheer face and gave way to a broad, tree-studded clearing atop a bluff that jutted over the valley. From its edge, a slender bridge leapt across the intervening chasm in a shallow, graceful arc to the foot of the mountain fortress, Stronghold.

Amric guided his bay gelding onto the
plateau, and he felt some of the tension leave the horse’s knotted muscles in a brief, shuddering sigh. The swordsman gave the animal’s neck a sympathetic pat. After spending all day navigating the narrow, wind-clawed trail over a precipitous drop, this flat and spacious projection of stone seemed secure indeed. He waited as the others drew rein beside him, relief evident on their faces as well, and together they surveyed the bridge.